Jun 15 - IMRE adjunct scientist, Associate Professor Ho Ghim Wei was the honoree winner of the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) 2015 Award in the Scientific and/or technological development category. The award was presented by Dr Amy Khor, the Senior Minister of State for Health and for Manpower at a Gala dinner on 29th May 2015. Annually, JCI selects ten outstanding persons who display great accomplishments in a variety of fields.

May 15 - IMRE researchers, Dr Li Xue, Dr Yang Ren Bin and Mr Lee Chang Sheng won the Tan Kah Kee Young Inventors’ Award (Commendation Award) for their research project, titled "Anti-fog- anti-UV- high clarity visors & goggles". Their research focused on creating persistent superhydrophilic surfaces (antifog) via nanoimprinting, while providing an anti-UV property to the surface. The superhydrophilic effect can be recycled and recovered by using everyday household cleaning agents such as soaps and detergents.

Apr 15 - IMRE's Human Resource Partner, Ms Sherry Sim, received the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) Commendation Award at a award ceremony during the Firefly Symposium 2015. She was recognised for her excellent attitude in delivering exceptional service to A*STAR’s internal and external stakeholders and going the extra mile to help her colleagues.

Apr 15 - Dr Guo Hong Chen, a scientist from IMRE, was one of the three T-Up Excellence Award Winners from A*STAR for 2015. He was recognised for co-creating the "Chameleon" ,with the team at SOLVES Innovative Technology Pte Ltd (SOLVES). The "Chameleon" is an apparatus to mass-produce coloured fasteners, (e.g. screws for the microelectronic industry) in large volumes by depositing ultra-thin films onto them.

Apr 15 - IMRE celebrated four wins at the A*STAR Workplan Seminar 2015. For the third time, we won the annual A*STAR's Patent Power Award, for having the highest number of patent applications filed per budget dollar.

Our staff, Mr Tan Khai Seng, was awarded the Go-the-Extra-Mile (GEM) Award for outstanding service to his colleagues. Another staff, Ms Chia Zuhaila, received the Star Innovation Award, for her part in developing electronic Purchase Request System (ePRS), which resulted in substantial cost savings for A*STAR.

Feb 15 - Research projects of junior college students who were mentored by IMRE’s Scientists, attained awards at the Singapore Science and Engineering Fair (SSEF) 2015. These include 1 gold,1 silver,3 bronze and 2 merit awards. The award-winning research projects focused on a variety of R&D such as molecular interactions and solar energy harvesting. The SSEF is a national competition organised by the Ministry of Education (MOE), the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and the Science Centre Singapore (SCS). For the list of winners, please refer to the table below:

Dec 14 - IMRE adjunct scientist, Associate Professor Ho Ghim Wei, was honored with the L’Oréal Singapore For Women in Science National Fellowship for Physical & Engineering Sciences, for her efforts in education and research in nanomaterials science and engineering. Prof Ho’s research focuses on the development of nanostructured materials for photocatalytic applications, to potentially help design advanced photocatalysts for energy generation and pollutant degradation applications.
Nov 14 - IMRE scientist, Dr Shawn Tan, was one of the winners at the TR35Singapore 2014 Awards. The award not only recognises innovators who are under 35 years old, but also the development of new technology or the creative application of existing technologies that matters to the world at large, not just to peers in a particular field or industry.

Nov 14 - IMRE scientist, Dr Shah Kwok Wei, was a finalist at the IET Innovation Awards 2014. He was nominated for his work on phase change materials (PCM), a ‘smart’ technology that helps passively cool buildings by absorbing the heat in the day releasing it at night. The IET(Institution of Engineering and Technology) Innovation Awards recognises the very best innovations in science, engineering and technology around the world.

Oct 14 - Prof Loh Kian Ping, an IMRE adjunct appointee, was conferred the President's Science Award 2014 on his outstanding work on graphene chemistry at the recent President's Science and Technology Awards. Prof Loh is currently the Head of Chemistry Department in the National University of Singapore (NUS) and is one of the key driving forces behind carbon research efforts in Singapore.

Sep 14 - IMRE’s spinoff, ACM Biolabs, was awarded the “Most Promising Startup Award” at the Emerging Enterprise Award 2014. This award recognises the achievements of businesses less than three years old and with a turnover of less than S$1 million per annum.

Aug 14 - Dr Ramam Akkipeddi, an IMRE senior scientist, was awarded the SPRING Singapore Merit Award (SSMA) for his contributions to the standardisation programme at the Standards Partner Awards Ceremony 2014. The SPRING Singapore Merit Award is given to individuals who have made significant contributions to the National Standardisation Programme through their commitment and resourcefulness in the development, promotion and implementation of standards.

May 14 - Mr Lo Chih Hung, a Biomedical Engineering student from NUS, who was mentored by IMRE's Dr Cheng Jinting, won the Best Poster Award (First Prize) for his poster entitled, "The Synthetic Immunosynapse" during the Biomedical Engineering Showcase 2014.The Biomedical Engineering Showcase 2014 featured a total of 77 poster presentations by NUS Biomedical Engineering final-year undergraduate students as well as postgraduate students.
May 14 - Ms Shannon Lee, a student from National Junior College who was attached to IMRE for her research project, was awarded 3 top prizes at The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) 2014 for her research titled, ‘Nature Derived Nanostructured Carbon Materials for Energy Storage’. Under the supervision of IMRE's Dr Li Bing and Dr Geng Dongsheng, her work on developing an efficient electrocatalyst that may be used for batteries of the future, won the ‘Intel Best of Category’ award as well as the 'First Award' in the Energy and Transportation category. She was also one of only two finalists chosen from 17 winners across different categories to receive the coveted INTEL Foundation Young Scientist Award, which carries a US$50,000 prize. The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair is the world’s largest international pre-college science competition, providing an annual forum for more than 1,700 high school students from over 70 countries, regions, and territories to showcase their research.

May 14 - IMRE scientist Dr Shah Kwok Wei won the ‘Most Attractive for Investment’ and ‘Most Promising Idea’ awards at the Startup Asia Singapore 2014 for his work on M-Kool, a cooling pad that can be used in fabrics to help regulate body temperature and keep the wearer cool. Startup Asia is a conference that showcases newly launched and product-ready regional technology start-ups.

Apr 14 – Dr Yap Fung Ling was awarded the distinguised Tan Kah Kee Young Inventors' 2014 award (Silver) for her work on the development of a cost effective method for fabrication of high performance Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) substrates. The breakthrough in this invention lies in the use of a thin film of block copolymer as a template to guide the formation of a highly uniform array of gold nanoparticle clusters over a large area with feature separation of less than 10 nm. This may be applied to 3D constructs as well, for example on the tip of an optical fibre; which will be useful for remote sensing applications or small volume detection.

Apr 14 – IMRE's Dr Jaslyn Law was conferred the A*STAR Star Employee Award at the A*STAR Workplan Seminar 2014. Adding to this, IMRE was also awarded The A*STAR's Patent Power Award, and the A*STAR Award for Scientist - Entrepreneur. The A*STAR Star Employee award recognises staff who best embody A*STAR's corporate values of Action, Speed, Teamwork, Agility, Resolve and Integrity. The A*STAR's Patent Power Award is presented to the A*STAR Institute with the most patent applications filed per budget dollar. The Scientist – Entrepreneur, which was given to Dr. Davy Cheong, CTO of IMRE's spin-off, Sofshell, is awarded to existing or past research employees who have successfully commercialised technology developed with an A*STAR research institute.
Mar 14 - A number of IMRE-mentored junior college student research projects were given awards at the Singapore Science and Engineering Fair (SSEF) 2014. These included 1 gold,3 silver,3 bronze and 4 merit awards. The award-winning research projects focused on a variety of R&D such as metamaterials, molecular interactions and organic solar cells. The SSEF is a national competition organised by the Ministry of Education (MOE), the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and the Science Centre Singapore (SCS). For the list of winners, please refer to the table below:

Mar 14 – IMRE's Sherry Sim was awarded the Excellent Service Award 2013 (Silver) by the Public Service Division in recognition of her contribution and commitment to excellent service.The Excellent Service Award or EXSA is a national award that recognises individuals who have delivered quality service.It is managed by seven industry lead bodies including the Public Service Division and supported by SPRING Singapore.

Jan 14 – IMRE's Loh Xian Jun was awarded the 2014 Young Researcher Award by Elsevier and the Materials Science and Engineering C journal for his exceptional research work on the development of novel materials for biological applications. The award recognises research excellence in experimental and theoretical topics at the interface of the biological sciences and materials engineering by individuals who are thirty-five years old or younger.

Dec 13 – IMRE's Dr Liu Hong Fei won one of the ‘Best Poster’ Awards at the 4th Trilateral Conference on Advances in Nanoscience : Energy, Water and Healthcare, for his poster entitled, "Bottom-up Growth and Bandgap Engineering of MoS2 -based 2D Material". The 100 posters presented at the conference were judged based on the novelty and scientific contributions of the presented results. The 4th Trilateral Conference was organised by the Materials Research Society of Singapore (MRS-S).

Nov 13 – Dr Leong Yew Wei and Dr Evan William’s team won 2nd prize for their smart insole prototype termed "SoleMate" at the recent The Makerthon 2013 (Brewing Wearable) while Ms Chen Shilin's team won 3rd prize for their safety jacket prototype, the "Nightrider". SoleMate is a smart insole with embedded pressure sensors that can monitor a person's walking mechanics, posture and balance to help prevent posture-related illnesses. The Nightrider is a safety jacket prototype with built-in OLEDs which can be used by cyclists or motorcyclists at night. The awards were given for the most innovative ideas based on Wearable Technology and are judged on the readiness of key technologies, uniqueness, and the value proposition of the ideas. The Makerthon 2013 (Brewing Wearable) was hosted by the SUTD Entrepreneurship Centre.

Nov 13 – Dr Chin Jia Min was awarded the L’Oreal For Women in Science National Fellowship 2013. She received the Material Sciences Fellowship in recognition of her effort to create sustainable materials and processes that can contribute to improved environmental sustainability. She focuses her research on the creation of porous materials for applications in areas such as gas purification and storage, catalysis, controlled release, green building technology and environmental remediation. Dr Chin’s aim is to utilise bottom-up assembly to create materials that have traditionally been accessible only via top-down fabrication. Dr Tan Yen Nee was also one of this year's finalists. She was selected for her work on developing Bioinspired Nano-Sensing Kits for Biomedical Diagnotics and Bio - Pharmaceutical Applications.

Nov 13 – IMRE's industry partner in the nanoimprint-based Eyefly 3D, Nanoveu Pte Ltd, was awarded one of the region’s most prestigious engineering honours, the ASEAN Outstanding Engineering Achievement 2013. The nanoimprint technology designed by IMRE’s Dr Jaslyn Law allowed the screen protector to turn mobile devices into unique 3D viewing platforms. The awards were presented at the Conference of the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organisation (CAFEO) held in Jakarta.

Oct 13 – Dr Cheng Jinting and her collaborators from A*STAR’s Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) were awarded the Young Researcher Collaborative Grant (YRCG) at the A*STAR Scientific Conference 2013 for their project on particulate-mediated activation of the NLRP3 Inflammasome to develop novel biopolymer particulates as better vaccine adjuvants. The proposal is to better understand the properties that affect the efficacy of particulate vaccine adjuvants and also develop biopolymer particulates with optimised properties. The findings could potentially impact the healthcare sector by creating better vaccines.

Oct 13 - IMRE’s researchers recently won awards for Business Plan proposalsfor innovative and sustainable nanotechnology products during the Asia Nanotech Camp 2013, a forum for young nanotechnology leaders
from the Asia Pacific region, which was held from 04-11 Oct 13. Mr Tristan Tan was part of the team that won 2nd prize for the Business Plan presentation while Dr Cheng Jinting and her team won the 3rd prize. Dr Christy Chong was part of the teamthat was given a special award for the Best Marketing Strategy.

Oct 13 – Nanoveu Pte Ltd, IMRE’s partner in the development of nanoimprint-based EyeFly3D, won 2 Gold SiTF awards in the ‘Emerging Technology’ and ‘Startup’ categories. Nanoveu, IMRE and Temasek Polytechnic co-developed a nanoimprinted film that turns mobile devices into 3D display platforms. The SiTF Award is organised by Singapore infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF) to provide recognition to innovative ICT applications and solutions.

Sep 13 – EyeFly3D, the screen protector that turns ordinary mobile devices into 3D viewing platforms won the Technology Innovation category in the Institution of Engineers Singapore (IES) Prestigious Engineering Achievement Awards 2013. The product is marketed by Singapore start-up, Nanoveu Pte Ltd and is based on nanoimprinted R&D by A*STAR IMRE and Temasek Polytechnic (TP). The award recognises Singapore-based engineering projects that demonstrate outstanding engineering skill and help better the quality of life. The win is also a testament to the ingenuity and creativity of A*STAR and TP scientists in turning lab research into a viable consumer product. “Eyefly3D demonstrates how we can turn innovative research into competitive technologies and ultimately, products that benefit consumers. The versatile and industry-ready nanoimprinting technique allows us to rapidly develop research concepts and designs into functional prototypes that can easily be adapted to mass production,” explained Dr Jaslyn Law, part of the award-winning team and the IMRE scientist who had developed the base technology together with TP researchers.

Sep 13 – Dr Qiu Chengwei, an IMRE-NUS joint appointee, was conferred the Young Scientist Award 2013 for his research on complex light - matter interaction and optical micromanipulation by the Singapore National Academy of Science (SNAS) and suppported by A*STAR, at the recent President's Science and Technology Awards Ceremony. The Young Scientist Awards are presented to young researchers who have shown great potential in their fields of expertise.

Sep 13 – Dr Jonathan Hobley was awarded the Lecturship Award for Asian and Oceanian Photochemist by the Japanese Photochemist Association (JPA) for his contributions to advancing photochemistry in the Asian and Oceanian region.The Japanese Photochemist Association is one of the largest chemical associations in Japan, with more than 1000 members.

Aug 13 – IMRE Principal Scientist, Prof Tamio Hayashi, was honoured by the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies (FACS) at the 15th Asian Chemical Congress for his research activities in the development of new selective organic transformations catalysed by transition metal complexes, especially catalytic asymmetric reactions. Prof Tamio is well recognised for his contributions to chemistry research and has garnered other accolades such as The Chemical Society of Japan Award (2003), The Japanese Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry’s Ryoji Noyori Prize (2007) and ACS’ Author C. Cope Scholar Awards (2008).

Aug 13 – 15th Asian Chemical Congress , Best Poster Award
Mr Zhang Zixuan,a Raffles Institution student, won the Best Poster Award at the 1st Asian Chemistry Research Fair (1-ACRF) for his research project on "Metal-organic Framework Sensing Materials Through Ligand Substitution on Two Dimensional Molecular Surface". Under the supervision of IMRE's Dr Zhang Wenhua and Prof Andy Hor, he came up with newly designed MOFs using ligand substitution on two-dimensional molecular surfaces. The resulting MOFs have good adsorption of carbon dioxide gases.

Aug 13 – 15th Asian Chemical Congress , Best Poster Award
Mr Raymond Gan, a student from the National University of Singapore, who was mentored by IMRE's Dr Liu Zhaolin was awarded the Wiley Prize for his poster entitled, "Photoelectrochemical device by a molecular manganese catalyst based on photosystem II" at the 15th Asian Chemical Congress.

Apr 13 – Sofshell Pte Ltd, a spin-off from IMRE, won the Special Recognition ‘Use of Technology’ Initiative or Programme award at the 1st Asia Pacific Eldercare Innovation Awards 2013. The company develops flexible, impact-resistant composite material for body armour and protective padding that effectively prevents blunt force trauma and can be used in eldercare and sports applications.

Apr 13 – Dr Loh Xian Jun was awarded a Commendation at the Tan Kah Kee Young Inventors’ Award 2013 for his work on fast response biodegradable shape memory polymers. Developed in IMRE, this material has the ability to change its shape in response to stimuli such as heat but can also revert to its original ‘memorised’ shape after deformation and within a very short time. To date, no other shape memory material responds as fast as this material. The technology is currently being explored for personal care and biomedical applications, such as drug eluting stents, responsive cosmetics and shape changing wraps.

Apr 13 - Dr Wong Chia Woan & Dr Karen Chong were conferred the A*STAR Star Employee Award and A*STAR Most Inspiring Mentor Award 2013 respectively at the A*STAR Workplan Seminar 2013. IMRE had also won A*STAR's The Outstanding Publications Award for Year 2012. The STAR Employee Award recognises staff who best embody A*STAR’s corporate values: Action, Speed, Teamwork, Agility, Resolve, and Integrity. Recipients must be outstanding contributors, have a positive influence on the organisation, and are role models for all. The Most Inspiring Mentor Award recognises inspirational and dedicated scientists who have played fundamental roles in nurturing other scientists/scholars. The Outstanding Publications (TOP) Award recognises the A*STAR research institute with the most quality publications per Research Staff in high impact journals as at 31 Dec of the previous year.

Mar 13 - Dr Karen Chong won the TUM-SNIC Industry Award in Chemistry Education 2013.The TUM-SNIC Industry Award in Chemistry Education is an award collaboration between the Technical University of Munich, Germany and the Singapore National Institute of Chemistry. It recognises a nominee’s contribution to scientific outreach, in particular chemistry outreach and chemistry education.

Mar 13 - A number of junior college students' research projects, which were mentored by IMRE researchers, garnered awards at this year’s Singapore Science and Engineering Fair (SSEF). These included two golds, three bronzes and two merit awards. The junior college students worked on a variety of projects that dealt with metamaterials, membranes and organic solar cells, etc. The winners are listed below:

Jan 13 – IMRE’s Dr Shawn Tan and Dr Zhang Shuang-Yuan won two of the five Poster Competition prizes given out for the Molecular Materials Meeting (M3) Singapore 2013, held from 14-16 Jan 2013 in Singapore. Their posters were entitled, respectively, “Tunable 2D nanoparticle crystallization via non-base-pairing DNA in the high ionic strength regimes” and “Temperature and chemical bonding-directed self-assembly of cobalt phosphide nanowires in reaction solutions into vertical and horizontal alignments”. The poster competition was judged by an international panel of researchers that included Prof. Erik Reimhult (Chairman) from University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Prof. Wiendelt Steenbergen from University of Twente, MIRA Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, The Netherlands and Prof. Karen Kavenagh from Simon Fraser University, Canada, to name a few. The prizes for the competition were sponsored by Gaia Science Pte Ltd.

Jan 13 - Dr Zhang Wenhua won the Dalton Transactions Johnson Matthey Poster Prize for his poster presentation on “Detection of Electron Deficient Chemical Species by Natural Product Supported Ir(III) Complexes” at the SNIC-RCS Joint Symposium on Inorganic Chemistry, which was co-organised and held at IMRE. The prize was awarded by the Singapore National Institute of Chemistry and Royal Society of Chemistry.

Nov 12 – IMRE spin-off company, Sofshell Pte Ltd, which commercialises soft, flexible and lightweight body-armour padding technology that was developed in IMRE, was awarded a Silver Prize in the 2012 Asian Innovation Awards organized by the Wall Street Journal. Sofshell was set up by Dr Davy Cheong, a former IMRE scientist who invented the material, and Mr Elgin Yap. Compared to some current types of padding and conventional high-density foams, Sofshell’s material allows wearers to move much more easily without compromising protection.

Nov 12 – Dr Jaslyn Law emerged a winner at the 2012 L’Oreal For Women in Science (FWIS) National Fellowship Awards ceremony for her materials science work in nanoimprinting. Jaslyn’s research focuses on turning ordinary material (e.g. plastics) surfaces into functional surfaces or ones with uniquely engineered properties. By changing the surface of a material using tiny nano-sized structures, materials can be made to be anti-reflective or self-cleaning (i.e. prevents dirt from settling). Jaslyn is the third consecutive L’Oreal FWIS award winner for IMRE in as many years. All three finalists vying for the 2012 FWIS National Fellowships this year were from IMRE. Kudos to Dr Tan Yen Nee and Dr Teo Ee Jin for reaching the final stage of the selection process. Yen Nee was shortlisted for her development of multifunctional biogenic metal nanoparticles for biomedical applications. Ee Jin was shortlisted for her work on harnessing the power of light for the next generation of optical communications with a new class of super bright and high-speed LEDs.

Oct 2012 - Dr Joel Yang Kwang Wei and Dr Chen Wei from IMRE were awarded the Young Scientist Awards (YSA) 2012 at the annual President's Science and Technology Awards ceremony which honours Singapore's best and brightest scientific talents. Joel's award was for his research on Nanolithography and Nanoplasmonics where he leads a research group in IMRE that focuses on the development of high-resolution (sub-10-nm) lithographic processes and their application to create metal nanostructures that act as antennas for light. His group has recently demonstrated a novel and ultra-high resolution approach for creating colour prints at an unprecedented resolution of 100,000 dots per inch (dpi) by relying on plasmonic nanoresonators as colour elements. The approach that combines high-resolution printing, compatibility for large-volume production, and fade-free colour elements is suitable for applications in high-density optical storage, anti-counterfeit tags, and nano-scale colour filters in digital imaging technologies. Chen Wei's award was for his research on interface engineering for molecular, organic and graphene electronics which focuses on surface and interface science. He has carried out atomic-scale investigation of the interface problems for molecular, organic and graphene electronics. He has developed rational design approaches to self-assemble molecular nanostructure arrays over macroscopic area with superior multi-functionalities for molecular nano-devices, invented a simple and non-destructive surface transfer method to effectively dope graphene for graphene-based nano-devices, and unravelled the organic donor-acceptor heterojunction interface properties for organic solar cells.

Oct 2012 – A proposed project by IMRE’s Dr Chin Jia Min and IBN’s Dr Michael Reithofer on "Ultrashort Peptide Hydrogels as Scaffolds for In Situ Silver Nanoparticle Synthesis and its Potential Application for Wound Healing" was awarded a Young Researchers' Collaborative Grant (YRCG) during the A*STAR Scientific Conference, held from 18-19 October 12. The mini grant is for novel project ideas independent of theme or discipline that are collaborations across different RIs. Dr Chin’s and Dr Reithofer’s project is one of only three that were successfully awarded to a field of 6 YRCG finalists who were shortlisted from all A*STAR’s research institutes to compete at the conference finals. The project’s research looks into new peptide-based hydrogel wound dressings with silver nanoparticles that can be easily changed without damaging the wound further as well as possessing anti-bacterial properties to aid in quicker healing.

Jul 2012 - Dr Neucheva Olga Alexandrovna’s poster entitled “Switching of a Single Molecule: Pentacene on Si(100)” won the Best Poster Award in Molecular and Nano-electronics at the International Conference on Nanoscience + Technology, Paris, France on 27 Jul 12. The award was presented by the European Physical Society.

Jul 2012 - Mr Li Zibiao an IMRE PhD student under the supervision of Dr Li Jun won the Bronze Award in the Technical Presentation, Graduate Category at the Biomedical Engineering Society’s (Singapore) 6th Scientific Meeting. His work on “Engineered Biodegradable Hyperbranched Hydrogel with Mechano-responsive Property for Easy Cell Recovery Application” indicated that the hyperbranched polymer-based hydrogel could be used as a potential tool for cell storage and easy recovery which can encapsulate and transport the cells.

Jun 2012 - Dr Madhavan's artificial cell membrane technology won the “Most Innovative Start-up” award for its potential application in membrane protein drug screening analysis. The technology was one of the twelve start-ups that was pitched to a judging panel at the ACE-ETPL Investor Forum held on 01 June 2012. The event showcased the latest technologies from research institutes and start-ups.

May 2012 - Dr Soh Chew Beng and Dr Tan Yen Nee were honoured with 2012 Tan Kah Kee awards. Chew Beng won a Merit award for his quantum dot LED work to develop an integral LED system with wavelength pulsing for different stages of plants growth. Yen Nee won a Commendation award for developing two label-free colorimetric assays for genotyping and SNP detection using metallo-gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as sensing elements and (bio)polymers (i.e., SSB protein or cationic polymer) to enhance assay selectivity.

May 2012 - Dr Wu Jishan, IMRE senior scientist and Joint Appointee with the Department of Chemistry, NUS, was awarded the Young Researcher Award at the NUS University Awards 2012. The award recognises researchers below 40 years of age for their achievements and promise in research.

May 2012 - Dr Liu Xiaogang won the Chemical Society Reviews Emerging Investigator Lectureship 2012. He was recognised for his research in the field of nanoscience, particularly his development of luminescent upconversion nanoparticles and contributions to nanoparticle-based ultrasensitive detection of metal ions and biological molecules. Dr Liu will present his award lecture at the ISACS9: Challenges in Nanoscience conference in Xiamen, China, on 31 Aug – 3 Sept.

Apr 2012 - Dr Zheng Yuangang won the Best Speaker Award at the China-Singapore Young Chemist’s Forum, which is part of the 28th Chinese Chemical Society Congress held from 13-16 April in Chengdu, China. The prize which was supported by the Nanoscale Journal was awarded for his talk on "Bio-inspired Synthesis and Surface Modification of Metal Nanoparticles".

Mar 2012 - Dr Wu Jishan and Dr Liu Zhaolin were recently given awards which were jointly presented by industry and the Singapore National Institute of Chemistry (SNIC). Dr Wu Jishan received the BASF-SNIC Award in Materials Chemistry for his achievements in materials sciences. Dr Liu Zhaolin was awarded the Hyflux-SNIC Award in Environmental Chemistry for his achievements in renewable and sustainable energy storage materials research. SNIC together with sponsoring companies, offers national awards to recognise outstanding, high impact achievements in several disciplines of chemistry for work conducted largely in Singapore.

Mar 2012 - Dr Andrew Ngo won the best poster award at the recent 5th MRS-S Conference on Advanced Materials held from 20-22 March 2012. The poster presented his work on Terahertz (THz) technology and the study of the effect of growth rate on the transition energies of InAs/InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs). Consequently, the obtained energy difference can be as low as 29 meV (~7 THz), thus demonstrating the feasibility of obtaining THz emission by QD bandgap engineering through varying the QD growth parameters. This work will benefit researchers working on QD-based compact THz sources.

Mar 2012 – Dr Joel Yang, an IMRE scientist working on nanoplasmonics was one of the few selected to be on the inaugural TR35Singapore 2012 list. The list is put together by Technology Review magazine and recognises the top 35 innovators in the Asia-Pacific region under the age of 35. A 15-member jury of technologists, researchers, and technology promoters selected only 10 winners from Singapore who were shortlisted from a over 100 entries. The award conferred to Dr Yang recognises his outstanding research in nanotechnology. Apart from nanoplasmonics Joel’s other work at IMRE involves process development for future high-density hard disk drives and the development of a new process to create micrometer-sized ‘photo-realistic’ images.

Mar 2012 – A number of junior college students' research projects, which were mentored by IMRE researchers, garnered awards at this year’s Singapore Science and Engineering Fair (SSEF). These included two gold, two bronze and a merit award. The junior college students worked on a variety of projects that dealt with materials analysis and characterisation, biomaterial for detection, nanotechnology and chemical processes. Listed below are the winners and their IMRE mentors:

Mar 2012 – IMRE was conferred the Business Continuity Management (BCM) Excellence Award at the World Continuity Congress Singapore 2012 held in Singapore (5-9 March) and organised by the BCM Institute. The BCM Excellence Award is given to an organisation that is able to demonstrate organization-wide capabilities in BCM. Organisations with the award are able to successfully implement Risk Analysis and Review, Business Impact Analysis Recovery Strategy and documented Business Continuity Plans.

Nov 2011 - The research on "Synthesis and studies of diamidopyrrolyl molybdenum complexes and their relevance to dinitrogen reduction" by Dr Chin Jia Min, "Nafion-sulfonic acid doped porous carbon nanospheres for polymer electrolyte fuel cells" by Dr Tay Siok Wei, "Stable dispersions of hybrid nanoparticles induced by stereocomplexation between enantiomeric poly(lactide) star polymers" by Dr Maureen Janet Tan and "Ir(III) complexes with cinchonine derivatives as ligands" by Dr Zhang Wenhua won Best Poster Awards in the International Conference on Green & Sustainable Chemistry (2nd ICGSC 2011). This Conference, hosted by the Singapore National Institute of Chemistry (SNIC), has provided a common platform for researchers, academics, consultants and industry professionals to gather and discuss the latest developments in all key areas of green and sustainable chemistry.

Oct 2011 - IMRE’s flexible, impact-resistant composite material for body armour and protective padding that effectively prevents blunt force trauma won the ‘Coolest Innovation’ award at TECHVENTURE Asiasons Innovation Awards 2011. Dr Davy Cheong’s innovative made-in-Singapore lightweight composite is a soft ‘smart’ material that is form-fitting and offers a high degree of comfort and mobility to wearers but instantly stiffens upon impact to protect the person from knocks and falls, shrapnel from explosives, or injuries from weapons such as clubs. The ‘Coolest Innovation’ award was presented to IMRE’s invention for a start-up's business idea or technology that fulfilled a market need or gap by employing a unique technology, concept or design that would potentially 'wow' the marketplace. The award is one of five awards given out by TECHVENTURE to recognise and award deserving and promising start-up companies that demonstrate exceptional innovation and excellence in their products and services, as well as displaying resilience and potential in pursuing their entrepreneurial objectives. All winners will also be mentored by a panel of internationally acclaimed investors, innovators and (including Asiasons' Mr. Jared Lim, Facebook co-founder Mr Eduardo Saverin, and Brandtology founder Dr Eddie Chau).

Sep 2011 - Dr Xu Jianwei and Dr Wang Wei from IMRE were recognised for their excellent work in two SERC Aerospace Programme (AP) research projects, which are relevant to the Aircraft Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) industry. Dr Xu’s project is a new technology for speeding up the curing process for a variety of aerospace sealants and adhesives. Dr Wang Wei's project successfully demonstrated the feasibility of using laser and novel nanostructured materials in the localised repairing of thermal barrier coatings and other aero engine components. The award was presented to the two project leaders by the respective industry sponsors and IMRE’s Executive Director, Prof Andy Hor.

June 2011 – Dr Joel Yang’s scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of M.C. Escher’s 1948 Dewdrop was created using IMRE’s patented method of nanophotography, as demonstrated using high-resolution electron-beam lithography. His Grand Prize micrograph was selected from a field of 86 other competing micrographs submitted at the 55th International Conference on Electron, Ion and Photon Beam Technology and Nanofabrication (EIPBN) held in Las Vegas, USA. The patterned structure is 4,000 times smaller than the original but still preserves both the fine detail and grayscale information of the original mezzotint. EIPBN is one of the world’s leading symposiums on lithography and nanofabrication.

Aug 2011 - Dr Liu Bin was one of two recipients of the prestigious L'Oreal Singapore For Women in Science National Fellowships 2011. Dr Liu Bin was recognised for her efforts to make solar energy accessible to the masses. Dr Liu Bin’s research team focus on creating low cost, high efficiency solar cells by using new materials, and optimising device design and architecture. They have specially designed conjugated polymer hole transporting materials (HTM) and organic/inorganic interpenetrating network structures to improve the device efficiency to over seven percent – a high efficiency for solid state HTM-based, dye sensitized solar cells.

July 2011 – Dr Liu Hongjun, an IMRE scientist was one of the awardees of the 2011 World Future Foundation (WFF) PhD Prize in Environmental and Sustainability Research. The prize recognises excellence in environmental and sustainability research during PhD studies at NUS and NTU. Hongjun was recognised for his work on “Bicyclic Guanidine Catalyzed Enantioselective Isomerization Reactions”and “Organic Dye as Visible Light Photocatalyst in Organic Reactions”. These studies involve a new resource-friendly synthesis method for preparing enantio-pure chiral compounds that are important in the pharmaceutical industry, and the use of an organic dye as a possible ‘greener’ catalyst for harvesting solar energy compared to current metallic catalysts.

Apr 2011 – Dr Tan Yen Nee was awarded the Best Presenter (Professional Category) and Ms Jasmine Yuen won the Distinction in Poster Presentation during the Biomedical Engineering Society (Singapore) (BES) 5th Scientific Meeting held at the School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, NTU on 28 May 11. The meeting aimed to showcase research activities in Singapore which ranges from Junior College, Polytechnic, Undergraduate and Graduate students to Professional Researchers in bionanotechnolgy; regenerative medicine; bioimaging and sensors (including instrumentation) and Biomechanics.

Apr 2011 – Prof Shih Choon Fong, the founding Director of IMRE received the Outstanding Service Award at the NUS University Awards on 30 April 2011. Prof Shih helped set-up IMRE in 1996 and served as the Director until 1999. He was appointed as NUS Deputy Vice-Chancellor in 1997, and took over as NUS President in 2000. Prof Shih is currently the Founding President of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia.

Apr 2011 – Dr Liu Xiaogang, a senior scientist with IMRE who holds a joint appointment with the Department of Chemistry, NUS, was awarded the Young Researcher Award at the NUS University Awards 2011. The award recognises researchers below 40 years of age for their achievements and promise in research.

Apr 2011 - A*STAR Award Winners! IMRE staff were presented with 3 awards this year by A*STAR Chairman, Mr Lim Chuan Poh, during the annual A*STAR Workplan Seminar. They include Dr Ramam Akkipeddi, Head of the SERC nanofabrication, Processing and Characterisation (SnFPC) group who was given A*STAR’s top award, the STAR Employee Award, for his outstanding contribution and positive influence on the organisation. The STAR Employee award is given to individuals who best represents A*STAR’s values. Dr Nikolai Yakvolev, Senior Scientist from the Materials Analysis and Characterisation (AC) Capability Group was awarded the Inspiring Mentor Award by A*STAR for his dedication and inspirational in nurturing the passion for Science and Technology in our youth. The Nanoimprinting Lithography Research Group (Dr Low Hong Yee, Dr Jaslyn Law,Dr Karen Chong, Dr Tanu Kustandi, Mr Jarrett Dumond) was awarded The Award for Leading, Educating & Nurturing Talent (TALENT) by A*STAR in recognition of the team’s excellence in providing good leadership and a conducive environment for nurturing young scientists.

Feb 2011 - Dr Cedric Troadec, Dr Deng Jie and Mr Vincent Lim’s image entitled “Gold Embroidered Molybdenite Carpet” was named as one of the Finalist in the Photography Category for the 2010 International Science and Engineering Visualisation Challenge 2010 sponsored by the journal Science and the National Science Foundation. The winners and the finalists of the 2010 contest, which drew 111 entries from 63 countries, was announced on 18 February 2011.

Feb 2011 - IMRE is ISO9001: 2008 Certified! IMRE was recently awarded the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Certificate, for its provision of analytical and advisory services related to materials characterisation and micro/nanofabrication. The materials characterisation and micro/nanofabrication services are carried out at the SERC Nanofabrication, Processing and Characterisation centre (SnFPC) at IMRE. The ISO certification is unique in that it particularly recognises the high standards of R&D techniques and processes.

Feb 2011 - Prof Andy Hor, Executive Director of IMRE, was awarded the Outstanding Chemist Award (OCA) 2010 by the Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore (NUS).

Nov 2010 - Dr Tan Yen Nee, Research Engineer with IMRE's Materials Characterisation and Analysis group, was one of the winners of the 2010 AsiaNANO Young Researcher Award. The presentation on Gold Nanoparticles-based Biosensor had won her the 2010 Young Researcher Award which was given for outstanding papers authored by young researchers and presented at the conference.

Sep 2010 - Asst Prof Wu Jishan, who shares a joint appointment with NUS' Department of Chemistry and IMRE, was one of the winners of the 2010 Young Scientist Award. He was presented the award during the annual President's Science and Technology Award ceremony for his research on organic optoelectronic materials and supramolecular chemistry.

Sep 2010 - Dr Tanu Suryadi Kustandi was one of two winners of the Philip Yeo Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Research 2010. A total of 34 entries - 22 entries from BMRC and 12 from SERC - were received for this year’s award. The 2010 prize was open to all NSS (National Science Scholarships), AGS (A*STAR Graduate Scholarships) and AIF (A*STAR International Fellowship) scholars who are currently pursuing their PhDs, deployed in A*STAR research institutes, or undertaking post-doctorate attachments.

Sep 2010 - Mr Ong Kian Soo was one of the inaugural A*STAR Safety Advocate Award winners for 2010 which was given out on 20 September 2010 on the 2nd A*STAR Safety Day. The day was to promote and cultivate a safer and healthy working environment for all. Mr Ong Kian Soo was nominated by IMRE’s Environment Health and Safety Committee for his good safety track record and his active involvement in safety-related training including Occupational First Aid Training, Chemical Spillage Control and In-house Fire Fighting Training.

Aug 2010 - Dr Low Hong Yee was one of three recipients of 2010's prestigious L'Oreal Singapore For Women in Science National Fellowships. Focusing on scientists in materials research, Dr Low was recognised for her work in nanoimprint technology.

Apr 2010 - Congratulations to all the IMRE-related winners at A*STAR AWARDS 2010!

Mar 2010 - Prof Andy Hor was awarded the inaugural GIST-SNIC Award in Chemistry Education in 2010 for his substantial and significant contributions to Chemistry Education in Singapore for more than a quarter of a century.

Jan 2010 - Mr Zhang Liang, a PhD student attached to IMRE won the IEEE Best Student Paper Award 2010 in a competition organised by the IEEE Photonics Society (Singapore), NTU, NUS and sponsored by Agilent Technoloiges and Rohde & Schwarz. He presented his work on "Linearly polarized light emission from InGaN LED with sub-wavelength metallic nanograting", which was done in IMRE under the supervision of Dr Teng Jinghua.

Oct 2009 - Dr Ng Ging Meng was awarded the Best Poster prize and first prize in the group presentation at the international Asia Nanotech Camp 2009, Taiwan. Dr Natalia Tansil also had the distinction of winning second prize in the group presentation at the same camp.

Jul 2008 - Dr Johnson Goh, Best Paper Award at the World Materials Research Institutes Forum (WMRIF), 1st Workshop for Young Materials Scientists in Japan for "Hot electron transport through thin pentacene film".

2007 - Mr Loh Xian Jun, a PhD student under the supervision of IMRE's Dr Li Jun, won a commendation award in Tan Kah Kee Young Inventors' Award competition for his project on "Smart Hydrogel for Injectable and Controlled Delivery of Drugs".

Nov 2004 - Dr Adrian Burden and Dr Peter Moran, co-inventors of Singular ID earned a place in the finals of the Far Eastern Economic Review's Asian Innovation Awards (AIA) 2004. The award is Asia's premier honour for individuals and companies who come up with new ideas, methods or technologies, or apply existing knowledge in creative, new ways to improve the quality of life or enhance productivity.

Jun 2004 - Dr Adrian Burden and Dr Peter Moran, co-inventors of Singular ID won 2nd prize in The Roland Berger - INSEAD Business Plan Competition 2004 picked as the second most promising business plan by an international panel of venture capitalists.

Apr 2002 - A/P Hanry Yu, a Research Fellow with IMRE working on tissue engineering, was honoured with one of the Young Researcher Awards in NUS' University Awards 2002.

Jan 2002 - Dr Han Mingyong received the Young Investigator Award for his proposed use of nanotechnology in the identification of cancer genes and proteins. The award is a joint programme by the A*STAR's Biomedical Research Council (BMRC) and the Office of Life Sciences, NUS.

Nov 2000 - Dr Mark Auch and Ms Jennifer Kok received the 2nd Prize in the IMRE-Osram/Infineon OLED Awards for their work entitled "Photoresist as spacer and dam for the encapsulation of flexible OLEDs".